Attenborough and the Giant Elephant

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David Attenborough investigates the remarkable life and death of Jumbo the elephant whose story is said to have inspired the movie Dumbo. Arriving in London Zoo in 1865, and a firm favourite with Queen Victoria and her children, behind the scenes, this gentle giant had terrible fits of rage, only pacified by alcohol given to him by his devoted keeper. Sold to PT Barnum’s circus in America, this caused public outrage. Although it turned him into a star attracting millions of people, his life ended tragically and mysteriously. With unique access to Jumbo’s skeleton at the American Museum of Natural History, Attenborough joins a team of scientists, unravelling the complex story of this large African elephant who many believed to be the biggest in the world and explores the lives of wild elephants to explain Jumbo’s troubled mind, discovering how attitudes to captive elephants has changed dramatically in recent years.